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| Friday May 17, 1861 |
On this day the Cherokee Nation adopts a Proclamation for Neutrality.
Proclamation for Neutrality by Principal Chief John Ross on May 17, 1861.
Proclamation to the Cherokee people.
Owing to the momentous state of affairs pending among the people of the
several States, I, John Ross, Principal Chief, hereby issue this my
proclamation to the people of the Cherokee Nation, reminding them of the
obligations arising under their treaties with the United States, and urging
them to the faithful observance of said treaties by the maintenance of peace
and friendship toward the people of all the States.
The better to obtain these important ends, I earnestly impress upon all my
fellow-citizens the propriety of attending to their ordinary avocations and
abstaining from unprofitable discussion of events transpiring in the State
and from partisan demonstrations in regard to the same.
They should not be alarmed by false reports thrown into circulation by
designing men, but cultivate harmony among themselves and observe in
good faith strict neutrality between the States threatening civil war. By these
means alone can the Cherokee people hope to maintain their rights
unimpaired and to have their own soil and firesides spared from the baleful
effects of a devastating war. There has been no declaration of war between
the opposing parties, and the conflict may yet be averted by compromise or a
peaceful separation.
The peculiar circumstances of their condition admonish the Cherokees to
the exercise of prudence in regard to a state of affairs to the existence of
which they have in no way contributed; and they should avoid the
performance of any act or the adoption of any policy calculated to destroy or
endanger their territorial and civil rights. By honest adherence to this course
they can give no just cause for aggression or invasion nor any pretext for
making their country the scene of military operations, and will be in a
situation to claim and retain all their rights in the final adjustment that will
take place between the several States. For these reasons I earnestly
impress upon the Cherokee people the importance of non-interference in
the affairs of the people of the States and the observance of unswerving
neutrality between them.
Trusting that God will not only keep from our own borders the desolations of
war, but that He will in infinite mercy and power stay its ravages among the
brotherhood of States.
Given under my hand at the executive office at Park Hill this 17th day of May,
1861.
JNO. ROSS, Principal Chief
Cherokee Nation
Also on this day a Representative of Washington County, Md., asks
President Lincoln to interfere in local matters to prevent civil war. General
Lewis Cass parades with 1st Michigan Regiment to White House and
receives the compliments of Lincoln. John G. Nicolay, private secretary to
President, makes official trip to Fortress Monroe, Va., in connection with
newly formed army. Mrs. Lincoln and party visit encampment in City Hall
Park. Mrs. Lincoln leaves New York at 5 P.M. for Boston.